You Go Hiking in the Woods with Some of Your

question 15

Multiple Choice

You go hiking in the woods with some of your classmates. A few days after the hike, your friend Alice calls to tell you she is not feeling well and that she is going to skip soccer practice that evening. She says she has a weird rash on her leg and wonders if she was bitten by a spider while your were hiking. She sends you a photo of the rash. You are in your final semester of nursing school and have recently studied disease of the cardiovascular system. You think that the rash that Alice has is a sign of Lyme disease, and offer to take her to the urgent care to get medical help. While you are waiting to see a clinician, you review answer Alice's questions about Lyme disease.
-Why is it more difficult to treat a late persistent Lyme infection than an early disseminated Lyme infection?

• A) The bacteria have developed resistance to multiple antibiotics by the late stage of the disease, so it is difficult to effectively treat a person.
• B) A person with Lyme disease develops resistance to multiple antibiotics throughout the course of the disease, so treating them in the late stage of the disease becomes challenging.
• C) Borrelia bergdorferi produces extremely resistant endospores in the late stage of the disease. Once these have been formed, it is very difficult to treat the disease.
• D) The bacteria are no longer dividing in the late stage of Lyme disease, and as antibiotics only work against actively dividing bacteria, they are less effective at this stage.
• E) Borrelia bergdorferi forms dense biofilms under the skin of infected people in the late stage of the disease. Bacteria within biofilms are protected from the effects of antibiotics and are difficult to kill.

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Definitions:

Birth Rate

A statistical measure showing the number of live births per 1,000 people in a given year, providing insight into population growth trends.

Aging Population

A demographic trend characterized by an increase in the median age of a population, often resulting from declining fertility rates and/or increasing life expectancy.

Fiscal Problems

Financial difficulties faced by a government due to a mismatch between its expenditures and revenues, leading to budget deficits and debt accumulation.

Poverty

The state of being extremely poor, with inadequate access to basic needs such as food, clean water, shelter, and education.